High explosive and process



PATENT OFFICE.

TENNEY L. DAVIS, OF SOMERVILLE, MASSACHUSETTS.

HIGH EXPLOSIVE AND PROCESS OF PREPARING THE SAME.

N 0 Drawing.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed April 18, 1221.

Patented June 1922.

Serial No. 462,031.

(FILED UNDER THE AGT 0?? MARCH 3, 1883, 22 STAT. L, 625.)

T0 alien/ 10m it may concern:

Be it known that I, TENNEY L. DAVIS, a citizen of the United States, anda resident of Somerville, county of Middlesex, and State ofMassachusetts, have invented an Improvement in High Explosives andProcesses of Preparing the Same, of which the following is aspecification.

The invention described herein may be used by the Government, or any ofits officers or employees in rosecution of work for the Government, orby any other person in the United States, without payment to me of anyroyalty thereon.

The subject of this invention is a high explosive and process ofpreparing the same.

The main object of the invention is the production of a high explosivefrom naphthalene and the use of mercury nitrate as a rea ent in thenitration of naphthalene.

i aphthalene provides an abundant raw material for the preparation ofhigh explosives. The most powerful explosive which has heretofore beenprepared from it is tetranitronaphthalene (containing 18.18% nitrogen)which, while not as powerful as trinitrotoluene or picric acid, hasnevertheless found some use, alone or in a mixture, as a filling forhigh explosive shells.

I have discovered that the use of mercury nitrate as a reagent innitration of naphtha lene leads to the production of nitronaphtholes.Naphthole nitrates more readily than naphthalene itself and I havesucceeded in preparing by this method explosives which. contain morenitrogen than tetranitronaphthalene and which are more powerful. While Ihave worked out a satisfactory process for the preparation of thisexplosive, I do not desire to make the details of that process theobject of the present application. I do, however, consider myself theinventor or discoverer of the general use of mercury nitrate as areagent for the preparation of high explosives from naphthalene. The explosive which is produced by this process is a crude pentanitronaphtholewhich substance I also claim as my invention or discovery.

The process may be carried out as follows I describe the two stepprocess though the process may equally be carried out in one step or inthree. 10 kilograms of naphthalene is treated, with stirring, with 30liters of commercial nitric acid (specific gravity 1.42) in which half akilogram of mercury nitrate has been dissolved and the mixture is melteduntil red fumes begin to come oii' abundantly. This occurs at about 750., and the mixture is kept at 70 to 80 C. until the vigorous evolutionof'gas has subsided. The spent acid contains the mercury nitrate and maybe fortified and used again for the first step of the process. The oilcontains about 8.9% of nitrogen and consists largely of nitronaphtholestogether with a small quantity of nitronaphthalenes. This oil issubmitted directly to the second step of the nitration. While stirredand cooled, it is treated with 82.4 liters of concentrated sulphuricacid (specific gravity 1.82). 100 liters of nitric acid (specificgravity 1.49) is then added. A vigorous reaction takes place, copiousred fumes are evolved and it is necessary to cool the reaction mixture.When the evolution of red fumes has subsided the mixture is heated foran hour at 110 to 115. It is then allowed to stand over night and thecrystals of pentanitronaphthole which have separated are filtered offfrom the strongly acid liquid by means of an asbestos or filtrosefilter. The pen tanitronaphthole which is so obtained is purified in theusual way by boiling with water. It is an almost colorless crystallinesubstance which does not melt but decomposes at about 257. It containsabout 19% nitrogen and has the acidic properties which arecharacteristic of nitrophenols. When the spent acids from the secondstep of nitration are diluted with water, a yellowish orange mass isprecipitated. This material melts at from to 105 and consists of thelower nitronaphtholes together with a quantity of nitronaphthalenes. Itcontains about 17.7% of nitrogen, and may be used as a high explosivealone or in mixtures.

Having described my invention what I claim as new and desire to secureby Letters Patent, is:

1. The method of preparing pentanitronaphthole, comprising treatingnaphthalene with a mixture of nitric acid and mercury nitrate to producenitronaphtholes, treating the nitronaphtholes with sulfuric acid,treating the mixture with nitric acid, filtering the resultant mixtureto recover the crystals of penta-nitronaphthole and purifying thepentanitronaphthole.

2. The method of preparing pentanitronephtliole comprising nitratingnaphtha- 5 lene, recovering the resulting nitronaphtholes nitrating thenitronaphtholes and then removing the pentanitronaphthole.

3. The method of preparing pentanitronaphthole, comprising nitratingnaphthalene and then removing the resulting pentanitronapht-hole.

41-. A new article of manufacture, consisting of pentanitronaphthole.

5. A high explosive consisting of pentanitronaphthole.

TENNEY L. DAVIS.

